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Oval Peak
Mountain in Washington (state), United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Oval Peak is an 8,800-foot (2,700-metre) mountain in the North Cascades of Washington state. It is protected by the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness within the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. Oval Peak is the highest summit in the Methow Mountains, a subrange of the North Cascades.[2] Oval Peak has a small rock glacier on its slopes.[3]
Climbing Oval Peak can be difficult due to the amount of talus on its slopes. There is a summit register at the peak.[4]
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Climate
Lying east of the Cascade crest, the area around Oval Peak is a bit drier than areas to the west. Summers can bring warm temperatures and occasional thunderstorms. With its impressive height, Oval Peak can have snow on it in late-Spring and early-Fall, and can be very cold in the winter.[3] The best time to climb Oval Peak is early July through October.[5] Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into Oval Creek and Buttermilk Creek, which are both tributaries of the Twisp River.
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Geology
The history of the formation of the Cascade Mountains dates back millions of years ago to the late Eocene Epoch.[6] With the North American Plate overriding the Pacific Plate, episodes of volcanic igneous activity persisted.[6] In addition, small fragments of the oceanic and continental lithosphere called terranes created the North Cascades about 50 million years ago.[6]
During the Pleistocene period dating back over two million years ago, glaciation advancing and retreating repeatedly scoured the landscape leaving deposits of rock debris.[6] The U-shaped cross section of the river valleys is a result of recent glaciation. Uplift and faulting in combination with glaciation have been the dominant processes which have created the tall peaks and deep valleys of the North Cascades area.
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See also
References
External links
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